Dave, I need to thank you for posting these notices. As an EE with an interest in transit, I find these fascinating. Most people don't care about what it take to operate mass transit so these provide insight into the infrastructure required to move large quantities of people safely. And to remember nost of this system was installed more than a hundred years.
If the 14th stree new signaling system is the same as the #7 then there may be pproblems in the future? #7 had line shut down by snow !
https://nypost.com/2019/12/11/slush-shuts-down-subways-pricey-new-signaling-system/
Apparently, your own posting had the answer for you. You possibly posted it without reading it thoroughly?
Byford insisted the problem was with Thales’ product and not the tech itself, because a CBTC system installed by Siemens on the L line has “worked flawlessly.”
Wednesday wasn’t the first time Thales’ system on the 7 line has been interrupted by snow gumming up its transponders — it was also shut down Dec. 2, he said.
Byford said Thales has known about the problem since March, but has failed to fix it.
The company has begun putting covers on the 498 transponders that are out in the open, but Byford said that work isn’t been done fast enough. Eighty were covered after the Dec. 2 malfunction, and 40 more after Wednesday’s mishap, the MTA said.
“This failure is wholly inexcusable and constitutes a woeful inability on the part of Thales to address a known issue within an acceptable timeframe,” Byford wrote in a terse letter to Thales executive vice president of ground transportation Millar Crawford.
He said he also met Wednesday with Gregoire Sulmont, head of Thales’ New York operations, for “an extremely robust meeting where it was made crystal clear to him that this situation has to be resolved.”
A Thales spokesperson said in an email Wednesday that the company was “deeply sorry for the impact this problem has had on New Yorkers.”
“All our teams are fully resourced, mobilized and committed to deliver and deploy the solution as quickly as possible,” the statement said.
The original Rapid Transit Commission Contract of 1900 declared: “where exposed to public sight shall therefore be designed, constructed, and maintained, with a view to the beauty of their appearance, as well as their efficiency.”
More than a century later, we stand by that credo. As MTA Arts & Design Director Sandra Bloodworth told us, “It is vitally important that the artwork speaks directly to those it’s created for: the people who use the station, and those who live and work in the neighborhood.”
The L line has some of the best examples of public art in our system. So whether you’ve casually wondered, “what’s the deal with all these colored tiles?” (ahem, “mosaics”), or if you’re looking for a fun holiday activity for the whole family, we’ve got you covered. And since it’s been extra busy with all of you M train converts, we’ll start this tour at Myrtle-Wyckoff Avs Station in Brooklyn.
When you’re passing through the station’s rotunda, stop and look up. Above this busy transfer point is a 2006 installation by artist Cadence Giersbach called From Earth to Sky.
Here are the five key facts you need to know about the piece:
Want to extend your tour? Check out the other L line art, along with the more than 300 installations we have throughout the system on our MTA Arts & Design website.
So yes, there’s more to L line infrastructure than tracks, tunnels, and substations. There are purpose-built interludes of beauty and serenity, too.
If you read any of the news stories leading up to the start of the L Project, you probably noticed one common question: "There are so many moving parts; how can the MTA actually make this complicated operation work?"
As you L train experts know, we did make it work, and have continued to do so for 240 days (not that we're counting). But beyond the meticulous train scheduling and work train testing and employee customer service sessions, there's one thing we did that we haven't told you about yet: how in the world did we share information across the hundreds of employees involved so they could take action on it—and in real-time?To get the unfiltered version of how everything went down, we called up John Hoban, Platform Controller Line Superintendent, and Tom Calandrella, General Superintendent for Capital Projects. L Project Weekly: We have a complicated system with complicated things happening all the time. Why was the L Project any different?Tom Calandrella: For me in the Rail Control Center (RCC), I've never seen a train operation that has to be so precise to work. I'm talking about the way the L is running on one track. One small error would cause massive ripple effects, and ripples turn into waves. We ran a bunch of scenarios to prepare for it. It was tough. Our staff would have to know those things in real-time, and have enough information so they could make real-time decisions too.LPW: I've seen people using those rugged phones or click-to-talk devices for these kinds of in-the-field situations. Did we consider that?John Hoban: Yes. In fact, that was the first option that was discussed. Our field staff including my team had used them in the past, so it made sense. The plan was to call into the RCC to report something from the field. Then, the RCC would translate all of that into actionable information, and post on Slack as a record. It would also be how the communications folks who manage our Twitter support account to get and share updates. LPW: So we were already using Slack?TC: Our communications teams have been using Slack for a few years now. This is how we give customers the most relevant and timely information possible. We also use it for things like major events, for example, snow storms. We have a model we call the "incident command center," and we create channels for each incident or event on Slack. It brings everyone from all departments to the proverbial table instantly. LPW: So mobile phones and Slack. But of course, we know things are different once you get into the real-life scenario. So what happened that first weekend?TC: We had our process down, but by the time the end of the Saturday shift rolled around, we had converted most people to just using Slack. Less than 48 hours. Talk about rapid user adoption!
It's a new year and it's been a while since we provided a one-stop-shop progress rundown on how we're doing. So let's do it!But before we jump into those numbers, here's the real number that counts: 400,000. That's how many of you use the L line every day in NYC, and how many of you worked in collaboration with us to make this project go as smoothly as it has. Take a bow!So, what exactly did happen in 2019 on the L Project? We count it up.
As announced, we'll be shutting down both L tracks in the tunnel for the March 20-22 weekend so we can hook up power lines to our new substations. Why? And how does it work?We sat down with Stan Karoly, Chief Electrical Engineer at MTA New York City Transit, to find out more about these electrifying developments.L Project Weekly: Just want to verify one thing. We built the new substations to deliver more electrical power to the L line. And more power means we can run more trains, right?Stan Karoly: That's correct. With its modern signaling already in place, we can run trains more frequently. And the L warrants an increase in service. But for more trains, we also need more power.LPW: So let's talk about how our power system works. Where does it come from?SK: We get our incoming substation power from Con Ed. We used to make our own power, but that's a story for another day. It comes up at "medium voltage," which could be any number of voltages in that range. So it could be 13,200 volts to 33,000 volts, depending on what's available in that area. LPW: And that goes right to our tracks?SK: Actually, no, but this is the perfect set up to talk substations. The Con Ed power first needs to be converted from high voltage AC, to lower voltage AC, then to DC power. That happens at the substations by taking the high voltage power and connecting it to a step-down transformer. We convert it to 650 volts DC, which then can go right to the third-rail. LPW: So we take high voltage and make it low voltage for the tracks?SK: Yes, our track power is in the 650 voltage range. We also get lower voltages like 120/208 voltage, too, but that's what we use for things like tunnel lighting.LPW: This may be a dumb question, but how do we know how much power we need? In other words, how do we know how much power to ask Con Ed for?SK: This is actually the first step in the process, even before a shovel hits the ground of a future substation site. We do what we call a "traction power study." Lots of factors are considered. We look at trains-per-hour max, what the signaling system is, availability of the cabling system to carry the actual power. We get input from Maintenance of Way (MOW) Engineering, Power Operations, Operations Planning, and others. The max power we can get per unit from Con Ed is 3 megawatts. Most substations are two unit substations, so the total power available is 6 megawatts.
LPW: So why do we have to shut down service to hook up the power?SK: Cables have to be physically connected to the tracks. That can't be done safely if the track is live! So power is removed in the affected section and obviously, no trains can then run. The traction power system is an integrated ecosystem, and you can't separate it track by track. Positive cables go to the third rail and negative cables feed to the substation. It's a delicate loop, and there are lots of things that need to be in place before we can connect the loop. Right now for example, at the two Brooklyn substations, we have all of our 2000 MCM cables (MCM is an abbreviation for "thousands of circular mils," a measurement of wire gauge) spliced with 500 MCM cables, which then will connect to the tracks once we're ready.LPW: Um that's a lot...so our takeaway here should be "safety first"?SK: Always! I know electrical jargon can get complicated. But I hope this shows just how many steps and factors there are, including safety for you and us. Lots of planning goes into this. We don't just take trains out of service on a whim. For this work, there's just no other way.LPW: And what will be doing over this March weekend?SK: Two things. At the substation near Avenue B, the team will be connecting negative and positive feeder cables from the substation to the circuit breaker house for both sides of L tracks. At the ones near Maspeth Avenue and Harrison Place in Brooklyn, they'll be connecting power cables from the substations to the tracks.Quick fun fact that's relevant here: if the distance between the third rail and the substation is greater than 300 feet, we build a circuit breaker house. It acts as an intermediary between the third rail and the substation. That's what we had to do for the substation near Avenue B, but the ones in Brooklyn connect right to the third rail.
LPW: Sounds like you're charging right ahead! Thanks, Stan, and to the whole team working on this electric initiative.
It was a temperate day in early November when we ceremoniously opened a new entrance to 1 Av Station (photos here if you missed it). This was the entrance located at Avenue A and 14th Street, on the south side, for the Brooklyn-bound travelers.Since then, we've been demolishing and rebuilding the old entrance on the south side of 14th St at 1st Ave. We've also been doing the final preparations to open the north side entrance at Avenue A—and the time has come.We're working toward opening the new entrance located on the north side of Avenue A and 14th Street in mid-February. Here's what you need to know:
Last time we checked, nobody has fixed the climate crisis. Rising sea levels and superstorms, like the one that swamped the L tunnel in 2012, remain looming threats to the planet, including our subway system.
So, hardening our system against climate impacts is a big part of modernization—and the L Project. One example we mentioned in last week’s resiliency rundown is the work we did at the N 7th St. Fan Plant on the Brooklyn side of the L tunnel. To explain why this particular fan plant is at more risk than others and what we did about it, we talked to engineer Amen Mukhlis and resiliency manager Steven Loehr.
L Project Weekly: First, guys, tell us what a fan plant is for.Amen Mukhlis: Sure, a fan plant is just that. It’s a facility with very powerful fans that ventilate a section of the subway tunnel. It’s not for constant ventilation, but it’s critical for safety. It will clear smoke if there’s a track fire or just hot air to keep our crews cooler. Right now, we have 204 fan plants across the system. That includes one fan plant on each end of all our under-river tunnels. There’s no street grating there, of course, so fans are the only way to vent those tunnels.Steven Loehr: Let me just add that 32 of our fan plants are in flood zones. The N 7th St. Fan Plant on the Brooklyn side of the L tunnel is one of those. It’s right beside the river. Because it’s for ventilation, it must have large open shafts to push air out. But those openings could also let massive amounts of water in.LPW: So, this fan plant must be located right at the end of the L tunnel. But that’s next to the river and in a flood zone.AM: Right, it’s in a SLOSH Cat 2….LPW: Wait, did you say Slosh Cat… like a drenched kitty? What’s a Slosh Cat?SL: It’s a National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) term. It stands for Sea, Lake, and Overland Surges from Hurricanes. SLOSH! Anyway, it’s a computer model for predicting storm surges on land. Like most of our flood-vulnerable facilities, we are protecting that fan plant against a SLOSH Category 2 surge, plus three feet. What we call SLOSH Cat 2 plus 3. Skipping the math, that’s flooding up to 11 feet above ground level. Which is massive flooding! LPW: Okay, so how do we protect our fan plant from the big slosh?AM: The fan plant itself was basically okay. It didn’t make any sense to totally knock down the 1916-structure and rebuild it. So, what we did—and this is new for us—we upgraded the plant and built a protective envelope around it. The envelope is 18-inch-thick, cast-in-place concrete. The piles extend 40 feet underground, down to the bedrock, so flooding can’t flow underneath and push up the structure. We sealed the entrance with heavy, tight-locking marine doors. Literally like you’d have in a submarine.
SL: Also important to note, there are more than just fans there. Since the fan plant is above ground and flood-proofed, we also use it to house controls for critical equipment and backup power for our pumps. It’s a safehouse for anything we want to place out of harm’s way.LPW: So, if there’s ever a movie-style climate apocalypse, the L’s N 7th St. Fan Plant is where you want to go?AM: Definitely, I’d go there! But kidding aside, big sections of the MTA system, like the L tunnel, were devastated by flooding in 2012. The rebuilding is still going on. It’s very expensive, and climate change isn’t stopping. As an engineer, I couldn’t see rebuilding anything without doing the best we can in terms of resiliency. We have to protect these investments.LPW: Totally agree. Now, Amen, you said the envelope is poured concrete. But what we see isn’t concrete. What’s the silvery cladding? It looks like some of those new postmodern buildings in Williamsburg. AM: That’s no accident! Since we were doing a very visible, above-ground project, we also thought about the design and community impact. It wasn’t an afterthought; it was part of the project. We did outreach to local groups and the community board with two options. We even talked with some of the architects who worked on new buildings in the area, and they suggested designs. That’s how we arrived at this exterior. So, yes, it does reflect the local architecture. And it’s weather-resistant.LPW: Nice! Now, before we go, Amen, we have to congratulate you! We see you were just named one of New York’s 2020 Top Young Professionals by the Engineering News Record. Great news! It says you’ve overseen 11 of our flood resiliency projects. You mentor high school students and work with veterans. It also says you were in the Desert Storm war, which impacted your career.AM: It did. At one point I was stuck in the war zone without food, electricity, medicine, or any outside communications. I think an experience like that gives you a kind of drive and tenacity.LPW: Sounds like resiliency is part of your ethos! We’re really glad you’re bringing that drive to these extremely important projects. Thanks for talking with us.
Morgan Av. DeKalb Av. Halsey St. Bushwick-Aberdeen Avs Stations. When we talk about making the most of any service disruption on the L, these stations are a model for how we do that.So what improvements can you see already? And we'll be working over the Presidents' Day weekend (yes, including Presidents' Day—remember to use that alternate subway service and shuttle buses!), but when will the work be finished? We checked in with our project manager, John Puthota, for the scoop.L Project Weekly: So what's this job exactly? Is it the same work across all four stations?John Puthota: Even though all four of these stations—Morgan Av, DeKalb Av, Halsey St, and Bushwick-Aberdeen Avs—opened in 1928 when the Canarsie Line was extended, they were all designed differently. Which means there are different needs at each station.Our teams did detailed surveys of each station, and Morgan Av needed the most work, followed by Halsey St. At these two stations, we're doing repairs to the platform columns. And at Morgan, we're doing repairs to the structural beams.LPW: 1928! Big year for debuts. Mickey Mouse, the first trans-pacific flight, and these four L stations.JP: Yes, and our work was designed to last. At this point, we're making repairs to the structure, not full replacements. At Morgan, we found that there were 13 steel beams that needed to be reinforced. Each beam is encased in concrete. Over time, due to water infiltration, steel corrodes and expands. In turn, there are cracks in the surrounding concrete.So our inspections identified areas where this was happening so we could get ahead of concrete fully breaking. Our crews go in and chip out the old concrete, do lead abatement as a precaution, and then we send another inspection through to check it. The job isn't done until that final inspection says the structure meets our standards.We're also repairing 5 platform columns between Halsey and Morgan.
Dave haven't followed this thread too much. Wonder if the tunnel safety improvements listed in this link were applied to the tunnel bores ?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Cp1Rh-FNOc
Earlier links discuss the new safety communications installation, plus improved emergendy lighting etc. New glameproof concrete is used where concrete is used, but cannot be used to replace the concrete of the original tunnel constuction.
There has never been any instance of a New York City electric subway or elevated train bursting into flames. Not since the first electrification of the elevateds starting in 1901. The same applies to electric commuter trains, starting with the first LIRR MUs on Atlantic Avenue, Brooklyn, 1904.
Starting this Monday, March 9, we'll be working on the Manhattan-bound tracks, so trains will arrive on the Brooklyn-bound track in the single-tracking area.
Here are the specifics of what you need to know if you take the L on weeknights after ~9:45 p.m. or all-day weekends:
Don't think you can remember all of this? Not to worry. Look for signage at stations to remind you what to do.
For more on women in railroading, see the Israeli News thread in the Passenger Forum.
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